NAUGATUCK — The Naugatuck boys basketball team started off the season with a solid home win before dropping the next two games. But head coach Mike Wilson isn’t reading too much into the first few games as the team is still finding its strength.
“We have not been really consistent so far,” Wilson said. “Consistency is a big thing in high school basketball. We don’t know what we are getting from guys right now. Once we find our little niche and figure out who we are, I think we will be all right.”
Naugatuck fell, 47-46, at Torrington Thursday in a game that was close throughout. Torrington (2-1) held a two-point lead at halftime and a one-point lead after the third quarter.
Despite Torrington being up five with a minute to go and going to the line for free throws, Naugy (1-2) had a chance down three with 5 seconds left and the ball. Freshman Ese Onakpoma missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer. Avery Hinnant put in a basket off the rebound, but Torrington escaped with the victory.
“It was a really frustrating game. Our offense just wasn’t crisp tonight,” Wilson said after the game. “We missed a lot of bunnies and we didn’t execute. I think our rhythm is a little messed up right now.”
Hinnant, a freshman, led the way for the Greyhounds with 11 points. Jean Lukau added nine. Hinnant was the third different leading scorer for Naugy in as many games.
“I think a lot of times we’re still looking to (Lukau) on offense,” Wilson said of the senior, who averaged 23 points per game last season. “But he is not the pulse. He doesn’t have to be the pulse every time down the court. It’s got to be our team.”
Naugy started out the season strong with a 79-48 win over Oxford on Dec. 14. Derrick Jagello and Gawayne Fisher each had 14 points, while Robert Sanders and Onakpoma added 10 points each.
The day after the Oxford game Naugatuck faced perennial Naugatuck Valley League powerhouse Sacred Heart, defenders of four straight NVL titles, in the Doc Hurley tournament at Trinity College in Hartford.
Sacred Heart started the game on a 12-2 run and never looked back, staying up 20 or more for most of the second half to take the 73-51 victory. Lukau led the Greyhounds with 14 against the Hearts, while Hinnant added 10.
Naugatuck will play Derby on Friday before the holiday break. The Greyhounds will continue to test themselves after the break, with matchups against East Lyme Dec. 27 and New Britain in the New Britain High School Tournament on Dec. 29. Naugatuck is back home against Wilby on Jan. 2.
Despite the two early-season losses, Wilson isn’t panicking and knows a lot can change over the course of a season.
“These first couple of games are about playing hard and getting our attitude about us,” Wilson said after the loss at Torrington. “As much as this loss burns, it’s all good. It’s something to build on right now, so we just got to keep grinding. We gave ourselves a chance to win and that is all you can ask for.”
